Editing Mistletoe (section)

== Toxicity ==
There are 1500 species of mistletoe, varying widely in toxicity to humans; the European mistletoe (''[[Viscum album]]'') is more toxic than the American mistletoe (''[[Phoradendron serotinum]]'').<ref name="poisin.org">{{cite web |title=Is mistletoe poisonous? |url=https://www.poison.org/articles/2015-dec/mistletoe |website=www.poison.org |publisher=National Capital Poison Center |access-date=2 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="medicineplus">{{cite web |title=Mistletoe poisoning |url=https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002883.htm |website=MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia |publisher=National Library of Medicine |access-date=2 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

The primary active toxic compounds in American mistletoe are [[phoratoxins]] (in ''Phoradendron'') and their effects can include [[blurred vision]], [[diarrhea]], [[nausea]], and [[vomiting]], although these rarely occur.<ref name="medicineplus"/>  Their primary mechanism of action is through disruption of cell membranes which causes [[lysis]] and cell death at high concentrations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Markman |first1=Ofer |last2=Rao |first2=Usha |last3=Lewis |first3=Karen A. |last4=Heffron |first4=Gregory J. |last5=Stec |first5=Boguslaw |last6=Teeter |first6=Martha M. |chapter=Mode of Phospholipid Binding to the Membrane Active Plant Toxin Phoratoxin-A |title=New Developments in Lipid-Protein Interactions and Receptor Function |date=1993 |pages=263–274 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4615-2860-9_25|isbn=978-1-4613-6239-5 }}</ref>

In European mistletoe (''Viscum''), [[viscumin]] is the more dangerous  active toxin.  It acts by irreversibly inhibiting [[ribosome|ribsomal]] protein synthesis in cells,  which leads to the death of the affected cell, tissue damage in the area of exposure from mass cell death in the very short term, with the potential for organ failure and death depending on the level of exposure.  Early symptoms depend mostly on the route of exposure as the first cells it contacts (thus the first to have their protein synthesis deactivated by it) will be the first to die.  Its toxic effects take place through the same mechanism as [[ricin]] and other [[ribosome-inactivating protein]]s but it enters the cells by a different mechanism than ricin and is toxic even to cultured ricin-resistant cells.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Olsnes |first1=S |last2=Stirpe |first2=F |last3=Sandvig |first3=K |last4=Pihl |first4=A |title=Isolation and characterization of viscumin, a toxic lectin from Viscum album L. (mistletoe). |journal=The Journal of Biological Chemistry |date=25 November 1982 |url=https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(18)33440-9/pdf |volume=257 |issue=22 |pages=13263–70 |doi=10.1016/S0021-9258(18)33440-9 |doi-access=free |pmid=7142144}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stirpe |first1=F |last2=Sandvig |first2=K |last3=Olsnes |first3=S |last4=Pihl |first4=A |title=Action of viscumin, a toxic lectin from mistletoe, on cells in culture. |journal=Journal of Biological Chemistry |url=https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(18)33441-0/pdf  |date=November 1982 |volume=257 |issue=22 |pages=13271–13277 |doi=10.1016/S0021-9258(18)33441-0|doi-access=free |pmid=7142145 }}</ref> 

Mistletoe has been used historically in medicine for its supposed value in treating [[arthritis]], [[high blood pressure]], [[epilepsy]], and [[infertility]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}